Stolen Hearts
by LorelaiSquared
Summary: Luke and Lorelai meet after Rory and Lorelai move to the Crap Shack. This was supposed to be a simple one off detailing based on L and L's first meeting as detailed in "Written in the Stars". My brain had other ideas however, so it evolved into much more.
1. Bittersweet Farewells

**_Authors Note:_**_ A special thank you to my amazing beta, _**_Jewels12_**_, for all her encouragement, editing assistance and feedback on my first ever attempt at Fan Fiction. Thanks also to _**_sosmitten23_**_ for help fixing my foolish quotation errors, I think I've finally got it!  
_

_Stolen Hearts was supposed to be a simple one off; a short story detailing Luke and Lorelai's first meeting (as referred to in "Written in the Stars") but my brain had other ideas and as you can see, it's evolved into much more. I hope you enjoy this first instalment!_

_xxxxx_

Lorelai sat on the bed and looked around the room solemnly. She smiled sadly as she took it all in: the peeling, yet cheerful flowered wallpaper; the twin beds; the curtain she'd erected between the beds and the bathroom so they'd have privacy. It wasn't extravagant or fancy, but it had been their home for the past 10 years and a part of her ached at the thought of leaving. There were so many great memories that had been created here with her daughter and the crazy, irrational, insecure part of her worried that those happy memories would disappear once the garden shed of the Independence Inn was no longer their home.

She spotted something underneath the bedside table and pulled out a small, child-sized sock that had probably been there for years. Lorelai smiled, recognizing the blue and green polka-dotted design on the sock. This was the one Rory had insisted on wearing to her first day of Kindergarten 7 years earlier.

_Rory woke her mother up at six am, hopping up and down on the bed, urging her out of bed. _

"_Mommy, I have school today! School, where there's lots of books!" Lorelai groaned and buried her head under her pillow. "Mommy, did you hear me? You have to wake up so I can go to my first day of school. I wanna see all the books!" _

_Lorelai reluctantly rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, muttering about coffee and the crack of dawn. 20 minutes later, after a shower, and copious amounts of caffeine, Lorelai re-entered the shed and watched as Rory carefully repacked the yellow backpack she had so diligently organized the night before so that she could fit the snack that had been made for her by her Aunt Sookie from the inn._

_When she was finished, she burst into tears. Alarmed, Lorelai rushed over to her and cradled her in her arms. "Rory, sweetheart, what's wrong?"_

"_I can't find my special socks," she sobbed. "The ones with the blue spots for you and the green spots for me. I need those socks."_

"_We'll find them, kid. Let's look together." Lorelai wiped the tears off her daughter's cheeks and gently took her hand, guiding her around the room as they looked for the special socks. They finally found them underneath the tub._

_With the crisis averted, and the polka-dotted socks firmly in place, they gathered their things and left the shed hand in hand, only to arrive an hour early for Rory's first day of Kindergarten._

Suddenly, the door to the shed swung open and Lorelai jumped as Rory burst through the door excitedly chattering a mile a minute.

"Okay, Mom, everything is in the Jeep! Michel complained about his back every time he lifted a box. You'd think we were asking him to lift bricks! Oh! And you should have seen it! Kirk came by and tried to help but he dropped a box of books and Michel started yelling at him in French. Kirk tried to yell back, but he apparently learned French at the 'Insane School of Gibberish' 'cause it made no sense. Finally Sookie came and shooed Kirk away with a loaf of bread. It was hilarious!" Rory giggled before continuing, "Anyway, all our stuff is in there. I can't believe we're going to have our own house, with a bathroom that has a door, and my own bedroom - with all those bookshelves. My books can't wait to live on those bookshelves. And - " she stopped babbling, suddenly noticing her mothers' sombre expression. "Mom, are you okay?"

Lorelai smiled as she looked up at her beautiful, vibrant, 12 year old miracle. "I'm fine, hun, just a little sad." She paused. "I'm gonna miss this place."

Rory sat down beside her mom and gave her a hug. "I know," she whispered, "I'm excited about the new house, but this is the only home I've ever known." She looked up at her mom, her eyes filling with tears. "I miss it already."

Lorelai held her daughter close, her own tears landing quietly in Rory's brown hair. They sat there, embracing each other for several minutes as they silently said their good-byes to the only real home either of them had ever known.

When they were both ready, they stood up, gathered the last of their belongings and left the shed hand in hand.

_xxxxx_

Luke slammed the plate of pancakes down on the table, failing to notice when the top one flew off and landed in his customer's lap. He marched over to the table by the door and roughly grabbed a plate of waffles that was still half full.

"Hey, I'm not done!" the customer complained.

As Luke stormed his way behind the counter and dumped the plate in a bin, he noticed his customers staring at him.

"What?" he barked.

The patrons in the diner all quickly looked away, no-one daring to answer him. Luke sighed, asked Caesar to watch the diner for a few minutes, and slipped upstairs. He knew he shouldn't be taking his frustration on his customers, but he was just so angry. 'How could she do it? How could she just leave like that, with no warning.' Luke slammed his fist into the wall and thought back to the evening before.

_He'd finished up in the diner around 8 and headed upstairs looking forward to a cold beer and some quality time with Rachel before bed. When he opened the door, she was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him. _

_He knew right away that something wasn't right. She was wearing her jacket for one thing, and when he saw the suitcase at her feet, his heart sank and he thought, 'not again.' _

"_Rachel -" Luke began. _

_Rachel cut him off, "Luke, please hear me out. I've just been offered an amazing opportunity to photograph a rare species of ape in the Congo for a major science publication. They need me there, like, yesterday, so I have to fly out tonight. I know this is sudden and I know that we've been doing great lately. Part of me really wants to stay here with you, but I have to do this Luke, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's what I've been waiting for." Rachel paused and picked up her bag. "I love you Luke," she whispered. She walked toward him and kissed him lightly on the cheek before heading over to the apartment door. _

"_I'm still not enough for you am I?" Luke asked, dejected. All he heard in response was the clicking of the door as it shut behind her and the soft thudding of her footsteps as they faded down the stairs. _

Luke cursed and winced, his fist throbbing from its deliberate run in with the wall. As he headed over to the sink to run it under cold water, he berated himself for his stupidity. He was a fool to have thought that Rachel would actually stay this time. It's not like they hadn't been through this before, but he'd convinced himself that this time it was different, that this time he could let himself believe that they actually had a shot.

"Damn it, Rachel! Why did I let you do this to me again?" Luke shouted to the empty room.

He shut off the water and as he dried his hand he saw something shiny poking out from under the bed. He walked over and picked it up, a new surge of anger coursing through his veins when he realized it was Rachel's jean jacket. He walked to the garbage can and balled up the jacket, but just as he was about to toss it, he abruptly changed his mind, grabbed an empty box from the closet and dropped it inside.

Luke swept through the apartment adding other items to the box before shoving it onto the top shelf behind his camping gear. He slammed the closet door shut with a resounding bang, knocking a light green baseball cap onto the floor in the process. Feeling oddly calm and satisfied, Luke scooped up the cap, placed it backwards on his head, and headed back downstairs to the diner.

**_TBC..._**


	2. New Beginnings

**_Authors Note:_**_ My muse has struck in a big way! This story has become even more than I imagined._

_Once again a huge thank you to my wonderful beta, _**_Jewels12_**_, who, among other things, helped me decide not to use imaginary words, like, 'mock-pondery'!_

_xxxxx_

"It needs a name." Lorelai stood on the lawn staring up at her new house.

Rory grinned up at her mother and in her best 'Bond' voice intoned, "Pit, Money Pit!"

Lorelai's eyes sparkled as she chuckled softly. "Nicely done kid, but I don't think that's quite what we're going for here. Besides then we'd need to find transient 'Pit Girls' to fawn all over it and that would just get tedious." Lorelai puckered her lips in reflection. "I've got it! We should call it Giles. It has that glowering British look to it... see the disapproving glare of the eyes up there."

"Huh?" Rory looked at her mother as though she had suddenly sprouted eight legs and was tap-dancing in a darkened classroom. "How can a house glare? It's an inanimate object. It doesn't have eyes."

"Yes it does. See those two windows up there? Eyes."

Rory shook her head and ignored the crazy lady. "Besides, how do we know the house is male? It's just us. Shouldn't we give it a girls name?"

"Like what? Candy? Oh! No! Wait! I know! We can call her Thelma and the mailbox could be Louise."

Before Rory could respond, there was a loud bang as a screen fell off one of the windows and landed on the porch.

"On second thought, perhaps 'Money Pit' wasn't such a bad suggestion." Lorelai eyed the porch suspiciously. They were both startled as they heard a second, louder crash coming from the side of the house.

Rory and Lorelai exchanged a melodramatic 'we're headed to our impending doom' look as they cautiously picked their way across the overgrown lawn to investigate the source of the potentially expensive disaster.

As they took in the collapsed porch rail masquerading as a pile of rubble, inspiration suddenly hit.

"Crap-Shack!" they shouted in unison, clinging to each other and jumping up and down excitedly as though they'd just discovered they were going to the prom with the cutest boys in school.

She grabbed Rory's hand and dragged her back to the front steps. Lorelai released her hand, gingerly beginning her assent. When the porch didn't collapse, she beckoned Rory to join her. As soon as Rory was safely beside her, Lorelai pulled her through the front door, grinning.

"Welcome home, kid!"

_xxxxx_

The lunch rush was over for the day and Luke was keeping himself busy by wiping down the tables with bleach. He only had one table left and then he was planning to go upstairs and rest for half an hour before the afternoon rush began.

He sprayed the table and as he reached for the cloth, he accidentally knocked the spray bottle off the table. "Damn!" he grumbled. Now he was going to have to change his clothes; he hated having to change twice in one day.

He wiped up the bleachy water from the floor and righted the bottle. When he stood up he could see a Jeep stopped in front of the diner allowing Old Man Twickham to cross the street illegally.

Luke began muttering under his breath about the stupidity of old men and enablers but stopped as he caught sight of the woman waiting patiently for the slow moving man to cross.

His immediate thought was that she was beautiful. She had dark brown hair that was parted in the middle and loosely spiralled its way past her shoulder blades. He couldn't see the colour of her eyes from this distance, but he could tell that they were bright. He watched her, mesmerized as she chatted animatedly with the young girl in the passenger seat. They seemed to be having a debate of some kind and both were gesturing wildly with their hands. The girl kept pointing to the large, white take-out bag on her lap. She said something, and the woman laughed, her eyes sparkling even brighter than before. The woman looked up, noticed that it was now clear and drove away.

Luke stared at the spot for several moments, wishing she hadn't driven away, before he turned back to his task. As he finished wiping the table, he allowed himself one last fleeting glance at the spot where the jeep had been, and as he thought of the vibrant woman he'd seen, he couldn't seem to stop the smile that played softly on his lips.

He put the bleach bottle and rag away and headed upstairs with a spring in his step.

_xxxxx_

Rory gently placed _Anna Karenina_ and _Jane Eyre_ on her new book shelf and smiled widely. She blindly tossed the final empty box into the kitchen and gazed around her room excitedly. Everything was here and in place. Her beloved books were all neatly arranged alphabetically by author and genre; her clothes were neatly folded and hung; and Colonel Clucker was safely guarding her brand new bed. Satisfied that everything was in order, she headed off in search of her mother.

Rory stepped out of her room and stopped abruptly. The kitchen was completely void of anything resembling edible food or cooking paraphernalia. Instead, it was overrun by dozens of empty boxes and what appeared to be the entire women's shoe and clothing departments of a major department store.

"Mom?" Rory called wearily, "Why is your entire wardrobe in the kitchen? I know for a fact that you have a perfectly good closet upstairs in your room."

"I've decided I'm going to bunk with you, that is, if I can ever get to you." Lorelai's voice was muffled.

"What do you mean you're going to bunk with me? I thought the point of moving was so that we could both have our own rooms." Rory was now in the living room. She scanned the room for her mother, but the room was empty apart from two boxes. One was sealed and labelled "Christmas". The other was labelled "Misc." and Rory could see 'Hug-a-World' and a lewd monkey lamp hanging out of it.

"Mom, where are you?" Rory climbed the stairs wondering what on earth was going on.

"Rory?" Lorelai's voice sounded closer, but it was still muffled.

Rory was baffled when she entered her mothers' room, only to discover that it was also empty except for the queen-sized bed from the inn that Mia had generously donated along with a new single bed for Rory.

"Mom?"

"In here!"

Frowning, Rory turned toward the voice which appeared to be coming from the direction of the hall closet.

"Mom, are you in there?" She turned the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"Yes, but I can't get the door open. There's no handle on this side." Lorelai was cramped in the small closet, her knees tucked up to her chest and her back right up against the wall.

"Why are you in the closet?"

"It's a long story..."

Rory tugged on the handle, turning it both ways and yanking feverishly but nothing worked. "It's stuck! I'm calling Sookie. Where's your cell phone?"

"In my pocket. I already called her. She's held up at the inn because that huge cycling convention arrived this morning and apparently cooking for 100 is more important than rescuing me. She assured me she was sending help."

Rory gave up on the door handle and slid to the floor. Leaning back against the closet door, she tucked in her knees, mirroring Lorelai's position. "While we're waiting can you please tell me what happened?"

Lorelai sighed dramatically and made her daughter promise not to laugh before muttering, "There was a spider!"

Rory bit her lip to keep from laughing. "A spider?!"

"You promised not to laugh."

"Yes, but we said nothing of mocking." Rory mentally stored some good jabs away for a later date. "That still doesn't explain how you ended up in the hall closet. Or how your clothes ended up in the kitchen. I distinctly remember lugging all of your clothes up here because you claimed you couldn't possibly do it yourself due to your crippling 'exhaustemania'... which isn't even a real disease I might add!"

Lorelai took a deep breath, "That was before I was viciously attacked by a spider." When Rory didn't respond, she continued, resigned, "I had unpacked all my clothes and I was just about to change when I saw Bob out of the corner of my eye."

"Who's Bob?"

"The spider. Anyway, Bob was crawling on my 'foxy' t-shirt. I tried to shake him off, but instead he jumped, and I couldn't find him, so naturally I had to empty the closet to find him and I didn't want to put my clothes on the bed because of Larry-"

"Who's Larry?"

"The cucumber... err... I mean the other spider."

Rory rolled her eyes, knowing her mother would eventually get to the point, but more babbling was inevitable.

"Anyway, Larry was under the bed, and Bob was in the closet, so my only option was to bring my clothes downstairs. It's not like I'm planning to cook anything anytime soon, or ever, so the kitchen seems like the most logical place for clothing storage. We've got an air mattress somewhere so I can just sleep on the floor in your room."

"Or, you could stop talking crazy and sleep in your own room," Rory suggested.

"Um, no I can't, Rory, I'm not staying in there with Bob and Larry."

Rory was beginning to feel like her mother was the twelve year old. "Did you ever think of maybe taking them outside?"

"Mean! I can't kick them out of their own home."

"It's not their home, it's ours! Anyway, that explains the clothing store in the kitchen, but what about your current predicament?"

"I was chased."

"Oy! This story has more twists that a corn maze on Halloween! Who was chasing you? The Bogeyman?"

"No, it was Oz of course."

"Another spider?"

"Of course not, he's a daddy long legs."

Rory shuddered. "Those things are creepy; all legs and eyes."

Just then, Kirk burst through the front door and bounded up the stairs holding a hammer.

"Lorelai," Kirk said in his professional voice, "I'm here to help; please remain calm."

"Oh boy," Lorelai muttered from the closet, "She sent Kirk? What is she nuts?! I'm never gonna get out of here!"

Stifling another laugh, Rory moved safely away from the door, Kirk, and his hammer, and sat back to watch the show.

**_TBC..._**


	3. Coffee, Lists and Bandages

_**Author's Note:** As always, extra special thanks to **Jewels12**, Super Beta!_

_xxxxx_

Luke groaned as the bell above the door jingled and Kirk entered the diner. He was still fuming over Rachel's disappearing act and he wasn't in the mood to deal with Kirk's annoying prattle today - or any day for that matter.

Kirk made a bee-line for his usual spot at the counter and proudly put his hammer down in front of them.

"Take that filthy thing off my counter, Kirk!"

"But Luke, it's a magic hammer!"

"I don't care if it's a hammer that grows into a beanstalk, I want it off my counter!"

Kirk quickly moved the hammer to the stool beside him.

"Kirk this is a diner, people have to sit there."

"Where should I put it then?"

Luke could think of a few places that weren't appropriate but he chose to keep his mouth shut. Instead he sighed, "What would you like Kirk?"

"I'd like a hot chocolate, with little marshmallow's floating in it, just like my mom makes it." Luke rolled his eyes as Kirk continued, "Oh, and can I please get it in a left-handed cup?"

"I don't have left-handed cups, I only have regular cups that don't have any hands at all. I do believe you can pick them up with either hand though, Kirk."

"Oh. Well, that's okay then. As long as I don't have to use _this_ hand." Kirk held up his right hand. It was heavily covered in what looked like wads of cotton and pink band-aids with blond cartoon characters on them.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but what the hell is on your hand, Kirk?" Luke braced himself, dreading the answer.

"It's a bandage, Luke."

"I know that. Why is it pink?" Luke wasn't even sure why he was engaging in this conversation, but for once, Kirk was being tolerable and it was taking his mind off of Rachel.

"Those were the only band-aids that Lorelai had!"

Luke frowned at the unfamiliar name as he scooped chocolate powder into a mug. "Who is Lorelai?"

"She works at the Independence Inn. She just moved closer to town and I was called over to help with a little incident. It seems our damsel in distress got herself locked in a closet due to a minor spider situation. I took care of it." Kirk looked very proud of himself.

Luke rolled his eyes as he stirred the hot chocolate and added exactly 16 mini-marshmallows. He set it on the counter and slid it over to Kirk. "Looks like it took care of you." He gestured to Kirk's right hand.

"Oh, this, it was nothing." Kirk absently reached for his mug with his right hand and promptly screamed in pain.

"Nothing, huh?" Luke was surprised at how much he was enjoying Kirk's misery.

"Just a broken finger and some scratches - the door fell on my hand." Kirk launched into an inappropriate, and detailed description of his injuries.

"Jeez! Kirk, this is a diner!"

"Luke?" Caesar hesitantly poked his head out of the kitchen just as Kirk was beginning to describe the colour of the pus oozing from his hand. "Um... we have a bit of a situation."

"Oh, thank God!" Luke dashed past a baffled looking Caesar leaving Kirk to babble to himself at the counter.

_xxxxx_

"Okay, Mom, we need to make a list."

Rory and Lorelai sat on the floor of the now, clothing-free kitchen. Bob, Larry and Gourd had been safely relocated to the great outdoors and everything had been unpacked and put away in their appropriate rooms.

"A list for what?"

Rory let out an exasperated sigh; her mother was being particularly impossible today. Perhaps it was due to the lack of coffee and edibles in the house, but Rory was beginning to loose her usually unwavering patience. "Mom, look around, we have no furniture other than the beds Mia gave us--"

"I thought we could live simply. Furniture is overrated." Lorelai could tell by Rory's cat-like glowering that her joke wasn't going over well. "You get grumpy when your mommy's been locked in a closet all day. Don't worry, hun, I've already ordered furniture, it will be here on Monday."

Rory calmed down slightly. "Okay, but we're going to need food ... and plates... oh! And forks!" She began jotting things down on the yellow notepad she was holding. "What else do we need? Pop tarts? Cereal? Coffee?"

"Oooh, coffee! I need coffee right now. I haven't had any since we left the inn. There's coffee at the inn. Why didn't I make Sookie send some with us? Oh my god! We don't have a coffee maker! Rory! We need a coffee maker! I have to have coffee!" Lorelai's eyes were getting wider and redder by the moment. Every time she thought about coffee she wanted it more. She desperately needed a decent cup of coffee.

"Coffee maker is already on the list Mom." Rory continued to write furiously on her note pad; there were so many things that they needed.

Lorelai stood up and tried to pull Rory up with her, causing Rory's hand to slide across the page just as she was writing 'toilet paper'.

"Where's the fire?" Rory shook off her mother's hand and stood up on her own, still writing.

"Will you please stop writing? This is an emergency!"

Rory raised her eyebrows sceptically at her mother. "Fire, car accident, head injury - these are emergencies. Coffee is not an emergency!"

"Yes it is, dear, innocent daughter of mine. Just wait until you've had your first caffeine withdrawal, then you'll understand." Lorelai pulled Rory to the front door.

Rory finally stopped writing long enough to grab her jacket. "Don't you want a coat, Mom? It's freezing outside."

Lorelai looked down at her outfit - tight fitting jeans, blue tye-died v-neck top and killer black sling-backs. "Nah, I'll be fine. Let's go get me some coffee." She propelled her daughter onto the porch and closed the door.

Rory put the lid on her pen and jammed it into her pocket. She glanced at her list one more time before she shoved it into her other pocket. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"We can join the circus? I'll bet they have good coffee there!" Lorelai climbed into the Jeep and started the engine.

"I was thinking of something more local."

"Like what? You know, I'm not even sure where to go for food or coffee here? We've always just eaten at the inn." Lorelai stopped backing out of the driveway for a moment as she tried to think if Sookie had ever mentioned anywhere before.

"No problem, Mom. As I was saying, I have an idea." Rory fastened her seat-belt as the car started moving again. "I was talking to Lane, since she's lived in town all her life, so she knows what's what. She said that everything happens near the town square, so I think that would be a good place to start. She said there's a diner nearby that has decent food and coffee and there's a market right across the street.

"Ooohh a diner? Think they make fries? Oh! Or pancakes? No, waffles! No scrap that, I want a burger!" Lorelai was practically foaming at the mouth just thinking of it.

"Why don't you look at the menu first and then decide?" Rory shook her head; her mother was truly insane sometimes. "Anyway, I was thinking that since I'm not going to get a rational sentence out of you until you have caffeine in your system, we could split up. I can go to the market to get the essentials that we need right away, and you can go check out this diner. I'll meet you there in about half an hour. How does that sound?"

Lorelai was nearing the town square. She parked the car along the side of the street and they both climbed out of the car. "Sounds like a plan, Stan! Now point me in the direction of this mythical coffee you speak of. I won't believe it until I smell it!"

Rory laughed at her mother and pointed at a building across the street that said "William's Hardware".

Lorelai looked baffled. "Ro-ry! I need coffee, not nails!"

"Mom, look closer!" Lorelai squinted and saw a small yellow sign hanging on the side near the entrance. As she walked closer she could see that it had a coffee cup on it with the word "Luke's" scrawled across it. Grinning, Lorelai waved to Rory and headed toward the entrance of her own personal version of heaven.

**_TBC..._**


	4. Heart Thief

**_Author's Note:_**_ Thank you everyone for all the fabulous reviews - they motivated me to keep going and to get this final scene to you as fast as possible. None of this would have been possible without the help of my brilliant beta reader, _**_Jewels12_**_. Thank you so much for the support, suggestions, editing and encouragement. Thank you also for putting up with my own incessent babbling and for convincing me that this final chapter did indeed live up to expectations._

_Please enjoy this final instalment of "Stolen Hearts"_

_xxxxx_

Rory grinned as she watched her mother enter Luke's diner. Glancing down at the long list in her hand, she sighed and turned towards her own destination.

The small market, called Doose's, had green awnings and large windows. The outdoor stalls between the entrance and exit were piled high with fresh fruits and veggies. She glanced at the vegetables, grimacing slightly at the sight. 'There's one thing that's not on my list,' she thought brightly.

She entered the market and was forced to veer left immediately to avoid being smacked in the face with a stray arm. Two heavier set women and a grim-faced man were arguing animatedly.

Rory bit her lip to keep from laughing as she caught part of their conversation.

"But, Taylor," one of the women was saying, "You can't ban couples from the Firelight Festival. They have as much right to be there as anyone else!"

"Patty," Taylor began calmly, "That's --"

The other woman interrupted him, in the raspiest, loudest voice Rory had ever heard. "Yeah Taylah! It just ain't right. The Firelight Festival is supposed to be roman'ic. How can it be roman'ic if there ain't any couples there?"

"Precisely my point ,ladies." They both stared at him blankly as he continued, "The Firelight Festival has become a sickening display of couples making out in the town square. I won't stand for it any longer. As town selectman --"

"Awww, Taylor," the woman named Patty shook her head, her eye's narrowed. "You're just jealous 'cause you don't have anyone to go with. I know just how you feel, hunny. Reminds me of that time I was dating Lester Dimples and he stood me up..." She gazed off into the distance, a playful smile dancing across her overly made-up lips.

"Patty, I hardly think --"

"I don't care what you say, Taylah, I'm comin' to the festival and I'm bringin' my Morey!"

"Babette! You can't do this!"

"Forget it, shugah, Morey's comin' and that's final. Go get a life or somethin'." Babette and Patty headed toward the exit as Taylor shouted after them.

"This isn't the end of this conversation ladies. We'll discuss it further at this week's Town Meeting. I could have you thrown off council for this!" By this time, the women were already across the street gossiping in front of the news stand.

Taylor aimed a disapproving look in their direction and turned back to his register.

Rory darted down an aisle, waiting until she was out of sight before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Lane was right, the people in this town were nuts! She couldn't wait to tell her mother about the floor show she'd witnessed and the town meeting that was coming up. She was certain her mother would be keen to attend.

She took a deep breath to calm herself before grabbing a basket and heading off in search of the many items on her list.

_xxxxx_

Desperate for coffee, Lorelai tore open the door to 'Luke's Diner' and looked around. All the tables were full of people eating and talking. Noticing that there was no one behind the counter, Lorelai frowned, and began frantically looking around for someone that could provide her with her 'fix'.

She was almost ready to steal an abandoned, half-empty coffee cup from a nearby table when she saw a man wearing a backwards baseball cap rush past in a blur of plaid. He had a plate of delicious looking pancakes in one hand and a coffee carafe in the other. Deciding he was the one she needed, she made a beeline for him, pausing just long enough to appreciate the view as he leaned over a table to place the food in front of a customer.

Luke was just asking the customer if he'd like a refill on his tea when Lorelai breezed over, "Please, I need some of that," she gestured to the coffee, her eyes wild.

He glanced at her, irritated by the interruption. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait your turn. We're kind of busy right now. Why don't you find a seat?"

He headed to the next table and to his utter annoyance, the woman followed him, chattering away. "Please, you don't understand. If I don't get coffee in me RIGHT this minute I'm going pass out, or start seizing, or something." Luke glared at her as he continued his rounds, hoping she'd take a hint. Instead, she continued to follow him, the pitch of her voice raising slightly as she carried on with her ridiculous tirade, "You see, I usually live off the stuff, but I just moved here with my daughter. We have no coffee in the house so I haven't had any since we left the inn yesterday. I can't function without my coffee and I've already gone almost 24 hours without it. I've never done that before, well at least not since I was, like, five; so something really serious could happen. I'm telling you, if I don't get some caffeine in my system ASAP I'm going to die! Did you hear me? I'm going to--"

Luke turned to face her, "God you're annoying! Sit down, and for heaven's sake, shut up! There's a free table over there, I'll get to you, when I get to you." He gestured to the table in the corner by the door and turned back to his current customer.

"When's your birthday?" Luke sighed as he realized she was still right behind him. He was really starting to loose his patience. The morning had been crazy, and to top it off he'd had to deal with Taylor trying to post his insipid 'No Couples at Firelight' flyers on the diner window and now this annoying woman wouldn't leave him alone.

He was almost ready to give in and pour her a cup of coffee, just to get her to shut up, when Andrew signalled that he was ready to pay. Luke headed over to him, the woman hot on his heels. "Why won't you tell me your birthday? What? Are you like ashamed of your age or something? 'Cause you're not that old." She paused and gave him a quick once over. She grinned. "In fact, you look downright young and spry. So I don't understand why you won't tell me when your birthday is."

"Has anyone ever told you you're insufferable? If they haven't, they should have." Luke handed Andrew his change and turned to face her, "Don't you have an off button somewhere?"

For the first time since she had entered the diner, Luke looked at the woman properly. He took a sharp breath as he realized she was the woman he'd spotted after lunch the day before. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since she'd driven off, and here she was, standing in his diner. She was even more beautiful in person and he could see now that her eyes were blue. He smiled slightly; he'd been hoping they'd be blue! He stared at her for another moment, wondering how someone so beautiful, could be so exasperating.

The bell above the door jingled and Luke snapped out of his reverie in time to spot Babette and Miss Patty snagging the seat by the window. Seeing that they were deep in conversation and didn't need him right away, he turned back to the woman who was now babbling on about someone named 'Michelle'.

"November," he stated plainly. She finally stopped talking and looked at him quizzically. "You asked me my birthday, I'm answering."

Her eyes lit up. He was fascinated by the way they sparkled when she got excited. "Finally! What day?"

"The eighth." He'd barely even uttered the words before she abandoned him to sit on a stool by the counter. Taking advantage of his sudden lack of noisy shadow, he headed over to see what Babette and Miss Patty wanted. As he jotted down their lunch orders, he could see the woman flipping through the newspaper.

"Hey, you got a pen?" she asked as Luke walked past her on his way to the kitchen. Deciding it was best to just give in, he silently handed the crazy lady his pen and wondered what on earth she was up to.

He stepped out of the kitchen in time to see the woman tear out part of the paper. She held it out for him, and, not knowing what else to do, he took it. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. It was the horoscope for Scoripo, but she'd added to it. He looked at it closely and could see that she'd written 'You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away.'

He set the horoscope down on the counter beside her and tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his smile as he grabbed a mug and the coffee pot.

Lorelai's face brightened as she gasped, "You're giving me coffee!"

"I'm giving you decaf. The way you talk it's evident you don't need caffeine."

Lorelai covered the top of her mug so he wouldn't be able to fill it, "Who are you? Richard Simmons? Were you not listening? I _die _without the caffeine. _Die_, as in, this pretty face goes bye-bye."

Luke sighed and grabbed the other pot. She beamed as he started to fill her cup. "It's about time!" she hung her nose over the mug and sniffed it. "Oh, sweet caffeine, how I've missed you."

"You want anything else or should I leave you two alone?" She grinned at him flirtatiously. "We're done, coffee is my fond but fickle friend. It won't last." As if to prove her point, she picked up her mug and downed it. "More coffee please. Oh! And an order of fries! Wait! Make that a double order with a side of pancakes!"

Luke wrinkled his nose. "Disgusting! Do you always eat like that?"

"I have a highly refined pallet, my friend." She pounded the counter with her fist and demanded, "More coffee!"

Luke reluctantly poured her another cup, seriously beginning to worry about this woman's health; physical and otherwise. He wrote down her order, and as he took it to Caesar, he heard her call after him.

"For the record, you make a damn good cup of coffee... I'm Lorelai Gilmore, by the way," she added as he came back with a cloth to wipe down the counter. The lunch crowd was thinning and Luke was grateful for the reprieve.

"Luke Danes. I'm the proprietor." He took the hand she offered. As their hands touched he felt a jolt, almost like an electrical shock, that coursed through his entire body. For the briefest of moments, their eyes met and Luke felt as though he were free-falling. She let go of his hand and the moment ended. Luke started to turn away, hoping she couldn't hear the rapid beating of his heart.

"Luke," she said softly, stopping him mid-turn. He turned back, noticing a slight flush on her cheeks. He wondered if she'd felt the same thing he had.

"Yeah?" She really was beautifu,l he marvelled.

"Hold onto this." She slid the horoscope back across the counter. "Put it in your wallet and carry it around with you. One day it will bring you luck!"

Luke took it, not quite sure how to respond. After a slightly awkward moment of silence, he put the paper safely in the pocket of his shirt. "I'll have to put it in my wallet later." He paused as Caesar called up the next order. "Better get back to work."

Lorelai watched him walk away, her own heart beating faster than normal. 'What was that?' she wondered as she took another sip from her mug.

Man, he really did make an excellent cup of coffee.

_xxxxx_

Laden with bags, Rory entered the diner and promptly collapsed on the chair next to her mother. Lorelai was already on her 5th cup of coffee and had relocated herself to a table after her food arrived. She'd eaten her way through half the pancakes and a good portion of the fries, so she slid both plates across the table toward Rory.

"Luke! Come meet Rory." Luke was busy with a customer and waved her off with his hand.

"Did you see that? The service around here is abominable," she said loudly for Luke's benefit.

"Do you happen to have a single, patient bone in your body?" There was a touch of warmth in the glare he gave Lorelai before holding out his hand, "You must be Rory. Welcome."

Rory shook his hand, "I hope my mother wasn't too unreasonable."

"Unreasonable? Try impossible!" She noticed he was smiling even as he scowled at Lorelai, who was desperately reaching for another pancake. Rory moved them out of her reach and smiled at Luke. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't leave her alone like that when she doesn't have caffeine in her system. It tends to make her a little loopy."

"You'd be loopy too if you'd been deprived of caffeine for two whole days and locked in a closet."

"It has NOT been two days, Mom." Rory chastised at the same time Luke exclaimed, "You were locked in a closet?"

Rory answered for her mother, who had managed to snatch a pancake and was currently preoccupied with chewing. "She was. Yesterday."

"Oh! You're the 'damsel' Kirk had to come rescue."

"Torture, more like," Lorelai swallowed and chased her pancake with the last of her coffee. "Wait a second, you know Kirk?"

Luke made a face, "Unfortunately. I gather the rescue didn't quite go as he planned?"

Rory giggled, remembering Kirk trapped under the splintered door. They still hadn't figured out how he'd managed to get his hand stuck in the handle like that. "You gather correctly. Let's put it this way: now we have to find someone to come fix the closet."

"And the porch rail!" Lorelai piped in.

"And the screens and back stairs!"

Luke cut in, "You living in a condemned building or something?"

"Nope. We're Crap-Shacking it up!" Lorelai sing-songed.

"I don't even understand what you just said."

"What she means to say," Rory started, giving her mother a stern look, "is that we've named our house the Crap Shack because there are some things that need to be repaired."

Luke was impressed; he wasn't aware that twelve year olds could be so mature. He glanced at Lorelai who still making up lyrics to 'Crap-Shacking' and thought perhaps he knew part of the reason why this particular twelve year old was so grown up.

He thought about their new house. It sounded like it could fall down at any moment. He'd barely known them for five minutes but for some reason he felt like he needed, no, wanted, to take care of them in some way.

"Hey," he looked at Lorelai, "if you want, I could come by and take a look at the porch and the closet. I'm pretty handy and I come with my own tools."

Lorelai looked awed. "Our very own handyman. What do you think Rory, should we keep him?"

Rory nodded, _her_ mouth now full of the last bite of pancakes and fries.

"Okay, I'll swing by on Saturday." Luke cleared their plates and turned to Rory. "Do you want something else to eat since _someone_ ate more than her half?"

"No, I'm okay, Luke, thanks."

"I'll have pie."

"I'm not giving you pie."

"But Luke, I need dessert."

"Eat an apple."

"I don't eat fruit."

"There's fruit in pie."

"Yes, but that's different. It doesn't taste like fruit."

Luke sighed. "Fine, two pies coming right up!"

"And a coffee to go."

"Another one? You've already had five."

"Five is nothing. In fact, give me a super, gigundo, gigantic sized, coffee to go."

"That's not even a proper word, let alone the size of any cup that I have."

"Well it should be!"

Luke shook his head. "Is she always this impossible?"

Rory nodded. "She has her moments, but mostly I love her anyway"

"Mostly?" Lorelai was indignant.

Luke walked away to get their pie, surprised at how much he enjoyed listening to them banter back and forth.

He slipped a few fresh apple slices into the pie container hoping maybe they'd be eaten, though somehow he doubted it. He contemplated making Lorelai's coffee with half decaf but he had a suspicion that she would know, so he decided not to try.

As he watched them walk away from the diner and climb into the jeep, keeping up a steady stream of banter the whole way, he couldn't help but marvel at how enamoured he was with both of them.

He glanced around the diner noting that there were no customers at the moment. He took the horoscope out of his pocket, and traced his fingers over Lorelai's words, a warm smile teasing his lips.

He spotted Kirk coming across the town square toward the diner and groaned. He quickly removed his wallet, took one last glance at the horoscope, and slit it inside behind his driver's license.

As he waited for Kirk's eminent arrival, he cleared a few tables and thought of Lorelai. Despite her annoying prattle and her heathen pallet, he had really enjoyed having her in the diner.

Kirk bounded into the diner, mercifully silent, and sat down to examine the menu.

Luke turned toward the kitchen and spotted the specials board which still had Rachel's handwriting on it. He almost dropped the plates he was carrying as it suddenly dawned on him that it was no longer Rachel who held his heart.

In that moment, he realized that nothing would ever be the same again. He smiled, thinking, 'I can live with that'.

**_FIN_**


End file.
